Concrete Abstractions
Concrete Abstractions by Hailperin, Kaiser and Knightby Hailperin, Kaiser and Knight
Shares rank 25 of 28 computer science textbooks by recommenders
People recommend it as a gentle, self-contained route into foundational computer science and Scheme exercises, and as preparation for SICP.
People recommend it as a gentle, self-contained route into foundational computer science and Scheme exercises, and as preparation for SICP.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
Other computer science textbooks people recommend
The four most recommended other computer science textbooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 55 | 5 | 92% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Art of Computer Programmingby Donald E. Knuth | 28 | 6 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 12 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Quantum Computation and Quantum Informationby Nielsen and Chuang | 12 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Concrete Abstractionsby Hailperin, Kaiser and KnightThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The books you mention deal with "Software Abstractions"”
“"Concrete Abstractions" for the novice making it ready for SICP”
“Pick any, CACS, SS, it doesn't matter, both will guide you”
“If you do these, you already understood most of the grounds of CS”
“s9fes can be a good enough Scheme Lisp to complete the exircies Concrete Abstractions”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.